People have been living in and around Shirwell for thousands of years.
There are several nearby hillforts, such as Castle Roborough. Very little is known about these people, who left no written records, though they may have planted the great yew trees in the churchyard, which are much older than the church.

The Romans would have called them 'Dumnonii', but they would probably have thought of themselves as very different from the Dumnones, who lived around Isca Dumnoniorum, or Exeter. Their houses and tools have rotted and rusted, and newer buildings have hidden their remains.

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